“Let’s make sharing our faith online more a part of our daily life. LDS.org, Mormon.org, Facebook, Twitter—all provide opportunities.” —Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve

This weekend it will be easier than ever for you to like, tweet, and share your favorite general conference quotes and insights.

Thousands of members flock to social media during general conference to share their testimonies, favorite talks, announcements, and quotes. Now the Church is facilitating the sharing of those messages by making quotes and announcements available in real time.

If you follow the Church’s official Facebook page, Twitter, and Google+ accounts, you’ll receive live general conference updates, quotes, memes, and video highlights to like and share with your friends.

During the most recent Relief Society general meeting on Saturday, Sept. 28, live updates were shared from the Church’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. At one point during the broadcast, the hashtag #ReliefSociety became one of the top 10 trended terms on Twitter in the United States. In previous years, the hashtag #ldsconf, which is commonly used when referring to general conference, has also been one of the highest trending Twitter topics, with as many as 128,000 tweets shared with that hashtag during the April 2013 general conference.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has encouraged members of the Church to share the gospel through the Internet. “Let’s make sharing our faith online more a part of our daily life,” he said. “LDS.org, Mormon.org, Facebook, Twitter—all provide opportunities” (“It’s a Miracle,” Apr. 2013 general conference).

Messages shared through social media are often the start of inspiring and meaningful online conversations. “I have been blessed by reading so many thoughts from other people,” said Ryan Bickmore of Salt Lake City. “I learn a lot from discussions on those thought-provoking posts.”

For members who might consider social media too new and unfamiliar to be useful, the following social media terms and frequently asked questions may be helpful:

How can I find and follow the Church’s official social media accounts?

Social media channels allow gospel messages, such as those from general conference talks, to be easily and widely shared. For example, posts shared on the Church’s official Facebook account are not only seen by hundreds of thousands of followers, but are also shared by tens of thousands of those followers with their own Facebook friends.

Social media is also a convenient venue for members to share their testimony of the gospel. Social media officially became part of missionary work when Elder L. Tom Perry announced during the Hastening the Work broadcast that missionaries would use the Internet—including Mormon.org, Facebook, blogs, email, and text messages—in their proselyting efforts (see L. Tom Perry, “Missionary Work in the Digital Age” [worldwide leadership training meeting, June 2013], LDS.org/broadcasts).

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag is created whenever a person posting a message through social media adds the # symbol before a word or phrase. Using a hashtag helps categorize and organize related messages so others can easily search and find conversations on certain topics. For a list of commonly used and recommended hashtags for LDS topics, see this Mormon Newsroom article.

What is a meme?

An Internet meme is often an image combined with a short amount of text. The Church often creates memes by combining compelling images with uplifting quotes from Church leaders to share through its social media channels. The following meme was shared during the Relief Society general meeting.